Do You Want to Build a Snowman?
by Gleeks09
Summary: AU: Rachel is five and Shelby has always been a part of her life. Rachel wants to build a snowman and needs some help in the snow. Unfortunately, her mother is too busy to play. AU


**A/N – Hello there. And yes, I shamelessly stole the title from Frozen. This little idea came to me earlier tonight and wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it down. It's just a fun little one shot. I hope you guys enjoy it. And if you haven't yet, go and see Frozen. It's a great movie. Idina is wonderful, of course, but the whole thing is really such a pleasure. **

**Happy New Year! Here's to an amazing 2014! **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. **

Rachel sat up in her bed and squinted at the bright morning light shining through the curtains of her bedroom at her mother's house. Christmas had come and gone two days ago and the excitement hadn't really worn off for the girl yet. She was in brand new pajamas and had slept with a brand new doll and couldn't wait to try out some of her new clothes. Between her fifth birthday and then Christmas, Rachel was riding a high into the new year.

Rachel moved her blankets aside and got out of bed and padded over to the window so she could look outside and check on the snow situation. It had started snowing last night and Rachel had been annoyed when her mom wouldn't let her play in it then even though the girl knew it had been past her bedtime. Shelby had assured her that it was supposed to snow all night and the next day and Rachel now saw that her mother was right. There was a blanket of white on the ground and the snow was still falling steadily.

A wide grin formed on Rachel's face and she hurried out of the room and down the stairs.

"Mama?" Rachel called out. "Mom?"

"Yes, baby?" Shelby answered from the kitchen.

"Did you see the snow?" Rachel asked when she got to her mom.

"I did," Shelby said.

"Can we go play in it?" Rachel asked. "Do you want to build a snowman?"

"Not right now," Shelby said. "You need to have some breakfast and then I've got a lot of housework to do."

Shelby was determined to get her house back in order after the chaos of Christmas and a houseful of guests who had now, thankfully, gone home.

"But, Mama," Rachel pouted.

"You can play for a little bit after breakfast," Shelby said. She reached down and picked Rachel up and kissed the five year old on the head.

"I want you to play with me," Rachel said.

"Maybe later," Shelby told her. "Now, do you want waffles or pancakes?"

After her breakfast, Rachel went back to her room and changed out of her pajamas and grabbed her new pair of boots. Shelby met her downstairs and got Rachel into some snow pants and hat and gloves.

"Come out and play with me," Rachel said as Shelby was zipping up the girl's heavy jacket.

"I've got a lot to do today, pumpkin," Shelby said.

Rachel sighed and looked at her mother with big eyes. "Okay, bye." With that, she was out the door and into the front yard.

Rachel got right to it with the snow and made a few angels and then walked around the yard and then tried to retrace her steps by walking in her footprints. She eventually grew bored with the front yard and made her way around the house to the back. Her swing set would be a lot of fun in the snow. Rachel made her way to the top so she could go down the slide. The combination of the snow and ice made it feel like she was going faster so she packed the slide a few times in a row and went down. She liked landing in the ever growing pile on the ground at the bottom.

Shelby watched Rachel from the window in the guest bedroom and chuckled as Rachel landed in the clump of snow below the slide. The woman was cleaning the room and the hum of the vacuum was still present as she watched her little daughter. While she was watching, Rachel made her way back around the house to the front. Shelby eventually sighed and went back to her cleaning. She had so much to do today.

Rachel surveyed the snow in the front yard and wiped some of the falling snow from her face. She was really starting to get cold, but she had plans for this snow. She wanted a snowman and she was going to build one, even if her mother wasn't going to help her. Rachel found what she deemed to be some good snow and sat down on her knees started to pack some snow together.

A little over an hour after she went outside, Shelby went to the front door to get Rachel.

"Rach, it's time to come inside for a while," Shelby said.

Rachel looked up from her work and pouted. "But Mama, I'm not done with my snowman."

Oh, is that what that odd shaped pile of snow was supposed to be?

"You can work on it a little bit later," Shelby said. "You need to come in and warm up for a while. I'll make you some hot chocolate."

"Okay," Rachel said with a sigh as she got up and headed towards the house.

Shelby stood her on the porch and brushed as much of the snow off as possible before they went inside. She didn't get more than a couple steps and Shelby had Rachel out of her boots and heavy clothes and hat and everything was hung up so it could start to dry out.

"Mommy, how come you can't come outside and play?" Rachel asked once she was seated at the kitchen table with her hot chocolate.

"I'm just so busy trying to get the house cleaned up," Shelby said. "The snow is supposed to be here for a while. I'll be able to play with you before it's gone."

"But why can't you clean later?" Rachel asked.

"Rachel… I told you yesterday that I was going to be spending the day cleaning," Shelby told her.

"But I want to build a snowman," Rachel whined.

"You can," Shelby said.

"Don't you want to build a snowman too?" Rachel asked.

"Sure," Shelby said. "But not right now, okay? You're just going to have to play by yourself for a little while."

"It's not as much fun playing by myself," Rachel said.

"Well, I'm sorry honey," Shelby said. "I can't play right now."

"Okay," Rachel said and then rested her elbow on the table and then her head in her hand.

Shelby felt bad, but she had things to do as well.

Rachel wanted to go back outside an hour later and so Shelby got her dressed warmly again and smiled as her little girl took off into the snow. She then headed into the kitchen and sighed. This was the next room she was going to tackle.

Rachel spent the next thirty minutes trying to pack and roll and create the base for her snowman. But whenever she felt like she was getting something going, it would fall apart and she'd have to start over. She knew it was possible. People built snowmen all the time. The neighbor two doors down had three in her yard. This just wasn't fair.

Rachel trudged her way through the snow to the front door and opened and let some of the warm air hit her.

"Mommy!" Rachel yelled into the house. "Do you want to build a snowman?"

"Rachel, you better not be tracking snow all the through the house," Shelby yelled from the kitchen.

"I'm not!" Rachel yelled back in a huff and then stomped back outside. All she wanted to do was play.

Half an hour later, Shelby was finally mopping the kitchen. She'd be done with the room soon and was ready for a break. She'd call Rachel in and they could watch TV or even lie down together for a little while. She heaved a sigh of relief when she finally leaned the mop against the wall and left the floor to dry.

Shelby opened the front door with the intent of telling Rachel to come inside for a little while, but her heart melted when she saw the girl doing everything she could to get a snowman built. The snow, however, was not cooperating and Rachel was still left with just a pile. It was still falling though and so supplies were not running out. Shelby changed her mind about calling Rachel in and shut the door and went to the closet. She pulled out her boots and coat and hat and gloves and got herself ready to go out and play in the snow.

"Hey," Shelby said as she walked over to her little girl and kneeled down in the snow next to her. "Do you want to build a snowman?"

Rachel stared at her for a second before breaking into a wide grin and jumping up to hug her mother. Shelby held her tightly as Rachel squeezed her around the neck.

"I've been trying to get him built, but I can't get the snow to work right and it all just falls apart," Rachel said, giving her mother a rundown of her progress so far.

"I think I can help," Shelby said.

And help she did. Shelby knew how to pack the snow to make it tight and she showed Rachel how to start to roll it so they could form a big enough base. The falling snow became heavier as the pair worked, but neither seemed to mind.

"Look, you did it!" Rachel said excitedly when the base was finally formed and in place.

"We did it," Shelby said. "Come on, let's do the next part."

The middle layer was easier now that Rachel had the knack for it. She and Shelby worked diligently and though they were both getting tired, they kept going.

"Be careful when you put it on there," Rachel instructed as they got ready to put the middle layer on the base. "I don't want it to fall apart."

"Yes, honey," Shelby recited dutifully. She had built many snowmen in her day, but she worked as Rachel instructed.

Shelby lifted the middle layer and Rachel helped direct it into place. The snowman's head was the easiest part and soon enough it was in place.

"He's almost done," Rachel said.

Rachel and Shelby's teeth were shattering by this point, but neither was going to stop until their snowman was completely finished.

"You get arms and eyes and I will get a nose," Shelby said.

"Okay!" Rachel agreed as she jumped into action. She headed towards the tree on the side of the yard to find some sticks and once she had them she would look for two perfect rock eyes in the garden.

Shelby headed for the house and didn't even bother to take her boots off by the front door. She just hurried into the kitchen and didn't pay any attention to the mess of snow she was leaving behind. She opened the refrigerator and pulled out the perfect carrot and then quickly made her way back outside. She didn't even hear the mop fall over onto the once clean kitchen floor when she bumped into it on her way out.

Rachel had already put his arms in and was getting his eyes just right when Shelby returned to their creation.

"Here," Shelby said as she carefully pushed the carrot into place.

Mother and daughter stepped back and admired their handy work.

"He's a cute little guy," Shelby remarked.

"He's perfect," Rachel gushed. "Thank you, Mama!"

"I love you, sweetheart," Shelby said. She picked Rachel up and held her close.

"I love you too," Rachel told her with a smile.

The snow started to fall even more heavily and Shelby could feel how cold Rachel was.

"How about we give him some time to himself and we'll go in and get warmed up with more hot chocolate and a movie," Shelby said.

"Okay," Rachel agreed easily.

Shelby and Rachel walked hand in hand to the house and they both turned back to look at their handiwork one more time before going inside.

"What do you want to do later?" Shelby asked as she was helping Rachel with her boots.

"Well… I wouldn't want him to get lonely out there all alone, so… maybe we can build another snowman!" Rachel suggested.

Shelby just looked down at her little girl and smiled. Of course. She should have known that was coming. Shelby didn't mind though; it seemed snowmen were a specialty of hers.

**A/N – That's all for this little story. I hope you like it. Please leave me a review if you can. Thanks, guys! Happy New Year! **


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